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{{Infobox scientist |
{{Infobox scientist |
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| name = Tanya Marie Atwater |
| name = Tanya Marie Atwater |
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| image = Atwater |
| image = Tanya Atwater Galapagos Rift Expedition, 1982.jpg |
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| image_size = |
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| alt = |
| alt = |
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| caption = Atwater |
| caption = Tanya Atwater on the Galapagos Propagating Rift expedition, 1982. |
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| birth_date = 1942 |
| birth_date = 1942 |
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| birth_place = Los Angeles, California |
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California |
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| nationality = American |
| nationality = American |
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| fields = [[Tectonics]] <br/> |
| fields = [[Tectonics]] <br/> |
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[[Marine geology]] |
[[Marine geology]]<br> |
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[[Marine geophysics]] |
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| workplaces = [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] |
| workplaces = [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] |
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| education = [[Scripps Institution of Oceanography]] |
| education = [[Scripps Institution of Oceanography]] |
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==Early life and education== |
==Early life and education== |
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Atwater was born in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]] in 1942.<ref name=PSU>{{cite web |url=https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth520/book/export/html/1752 |title=Tanya Atwater |publisher=John A. Dutton e-Education Institute |first=Tanya |last=Atwater |accessdate=11 November 2012}}</ref> Her father was an engineer and her mother was a botanist. Atwater was one of the first women to research the [[Seabed|ocean floor]] in terms of its [[ |
Atwater was born in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]] in 1942.<ref name=PSU>{{cite web |url=https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth520/book/export/html/1752 |title=Tanya Atwater |publisher=John A. Dutton e-Education Institute |first=Tanya |last=Atwater |accessdate=11 November 2012}}</ref> Her father was an engineer and her mother was a botanist. Atwater was one of the first women to research the [[Seabed|ocean floor]] in terms of its [[geology]].{{cn|date=June 2024}} |
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Atwater began her education in 1960 at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], then received her B.A. in |
Atwater began her education in 1960 at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], then received her B.A. in [[geophysics]] from the [[University of California, Berkeley]] in 1965.<ref>{{citation|last=Gates|first=Alexander E.|chapter="Atwater, Tanya" |title=A to Z of earth scientists|year=2003|publisher=Facts on File|location=New York|isbn=978-0816045808 |pages=10–12}}</ref> She earned a Ph.D. (1972) in [[marine geophysics]] from [[Scripps Institution of Oceanography]], [[University of California, San Diego]]. She is director of the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] Educational Multimedia Visualization Center where she is an emerita professor of geological sciences. She was a professor at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] before joining the faculty at UCSB in 1980. Atwater retired from UCSB in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|title=EMVC Web Page|url=http://emvc.geol.ucsb.edu}}</ref> |
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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Atwater was a professor of [[tectonics]], in the Department of Geological Sciences at the |
Atwater was a professor of [[tectonics]], in the Department of Geological Sciences, now the Department of Earth science, at the University of California, Santa Barbara before retiring. She authored and co-authored 50 articles in international journals, professional volumes, and major reports. Seven of these papers were published in the journals ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' or ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]''. In 1975, she became a Fellow of the [[American Geophysical Union]] for her work in [[tectonophysics]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Tanya M. Atwater|url=https://honors.agu.org/honorsfellow/1324-atwater/|publisher=American Geophysical Union|access-date=2 December 2017}}</ref> From 1975 to 1977, Atwater was a [[Sloan Research Fellowship|Sloan Postdoctoral Fellowship]] Recipient in Physics.<ref>{{cite book|chapter="Atwater, Tanya"|title=Postdoctoral Pathways: Preparation, Holding Pattern of Jumping off point?|year=2012| publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Maryland|isbn=978-1421403632}}</ref> In 1984, she won the Encouragement Award from the [[Association for Women Geoscientists]].<ref name="CV">{{cite web |last=Atwater |first=Tanya M. |title=Tanya M. Atwater Curriculum Vitae |publisher=John A. Dutton e-Education Institute |accessdate= December 2, 2017 |url=http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/atwater/Biography/CV.html |year=n.d.}}</ref> Atwater is a member of the U.S. [[National Academy of Sciences]]<ref name='foo'>{{cite web|title=Tanya Atwater|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/1376.html|publisher=National Academies of Science|access-date=1 December 2017}}</ref> elected for her contributions to marine geophysics and tectonics. In 2019 she received the highest award of the [[Geological Society of America]], the Penrose Medal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/About/awards/About_Awards/GSA/Awards/About_GSA_Awards.aspx#penrose|title=The Penrose Medal|website=|access-date=}}</ref> In 2022 she received the Wollaston medal from the Geological Society of London, its highest award.<ref name=":0" /> |
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===Scientific discoveries=== |
===Scientific discoveries=== |
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Atwater was involved in oceanographic expeditions using deep towed instruments to explore the ocean floor. To date, she has participated in 12 deep water dives in the deep-ocean submersible ''[[DSV Alvin|Alvin]]''. She researched the volcano-tectonic processes responsible for creating new oceanic crust at [[Mid-ocean ridge|seafloor spreading centers]]. In 1968, she co-authored a research paper featuring groundbreaking work into the faulted nature of spreading centers.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Menard |first1=H.W. |last2=Atwater |first2= T.M. | year=1968 |title=Changes in direction of sea floor spreading| journal=Nature| volume=219|issue=5153 | pages=463–467|bibcode=1968Natur.219..463M|doi=10.1038/219463a0|s2cid=38388804 }}</ref> With [[Jack Corliss]], [[Fred Spiess]], and [[Kenneth C. Macdonald|Kenneth Macdonald]], she played key roles in expeditions that uncovered the distinct biology of ocean floor warm springs, which led to the discovery during the [[RISE project]] of the high temperature black smokers, undersea [[hydrothermal vent]]s. |
Atwater was involved in oceanographic expeditions using deep towed instruments to explore the ocean floor. To date, she has participated in 12 deep water dives in the deep-ocean submersible ''[[DSV Alvin|Alvin]]''. She researched the volcano-tectonic processes responsible for creating new oceanic crust at [[Mid-ocean ridge|seafloor spreading centers]]. In 1968, she co-authored a research paper featuring groundbreaking work into the faulted nature of [[spreading centers]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Menard |first1=H.W. |last2=Atwater |first2= T.M. | year=1968 |title=Changes in direction of sea floor spreading| journal=Nature| volume=219|issue=5153 | pages=463–467|bibcode=1968Natur.219..463M|doi=10.1038/219463a0|s2cid=38388804 }}</ref> With [[Jack Corliss]], [[Fred Spiess]], and [[Kenneth C. Macdonald|Kenneth Macdonald]], she played key roles in expeditions that uncovered the distinct biology of ocean floor warm springs, which led to the discovery during the [[RISE project]] of the high temperature black smokers, undersea [[hydrothermal vent]]s. |
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In Atwater's research on [[propagating rift]]s near the [[Galápagos Islands|Galapagos Islands]],<ref>{{cite journal|last=Atwater |first=Tanya | year=1981 |title=Propagating rifts in seafloor spreading patterns| journal=Nature| volume=290|issue=5803 | pages=185–186|bibcode=1981Natur.290..185A|doi=10.1038/290185a0|s2cid=4366184 }}</ref> she discovered that propagating rifts were created when spreading centers along the seafloor were disturbed by tectonic movement or [[magma]] and therefore had to change direction to realign. This helped to explain the complex pattern of the seafloor. |
In Atwater's research on [[propagating rift]]s near the [[Galápagos Islands|Galapagos Islands]],<ref>{{cite journal|last=Atwater |first=Tanya | year=1981 |title=Propagating rifts in seafloor spreading patterns| journal=Nature| volume=290|issue=5803 | pages=185–186|bibcode=1981Natur.290..185A|doi=10.1038/290185a0|s2cid=4366184 }}</ref> she discovered that propagating rifts were created when spreading centers along the seafloor were disturbed by tectonic movement or [[magma]] and therefore had to change direction to realign. This helped to explain the complex pattern of the seafloor. |
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Atwater is perhaps best known for her work on the |
Atwater is perhaps best known for her work on the plate tectonic history of western North America.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Tanya Atwater: Using Plate Tectonics to Explain Geologic History of Western North America|bibcode = 2018AGUFM.T24C..07S|last1 = Stock|first1 = J. M.|journal = AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts|year = 2018|volume = 2018|pages = T24C–07}}</ref> She wrote two major research papers outlining the history of plate tectonic evolution of North America and tectonic problems of the [[San Andreas Fault]], which assisted in documenting the history of the San Andreas Fault.<ref name="GeoScienceWorld" /><ref>{{cite conference|last1=Atwater |first1=Tanya |last2=Molnar |first2=Peter | year=1973 |title=Relative motion of the Pacific and North American plates deduced from sea-floor spreading in the Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific Oceans| editor-first1=R. L. |editor-last1=Kovach |editor-first2=A. |editor-last2=Nur |conference=Conference on Tectonic Problems of the San Andreas Fault |publisher=Stanford University | volume=13 | pages=136–148}}</ref> |
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She also studied geometric evolution, integrating and comparing the global plate motion records with the regional continental geologic records. |
She also studied geometric evolution, integrating and comparing the global plate motion records with the regional continental geologic records. She found emerging relationships that revealed the origins of many large-scale geologic features (e.g. [[Rocky Mountains]], [[Yellowstone National Park|Yellowstone]], [[Death Valley]], [[Cascade Volcanoes|Cascade]] volcanoes, [[California Coast Ranges]]).<ref name="foo"/> |
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⚫ | Atwater's research paper, "Implications of Plate Tectonics for the Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Western North America",<ref name="GeoScienceWorld">{{cite journal|last1=Atwater |first1=Tanya | year=1970 |title=Implications of Plate Tectonics for the Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Western North America|journal=Geological Society of America Bulletin | volume=81 | issue=12 | pages=3513–3536|bibcode=1970GSAB...81.3513A |doi=10.1130/0016-7606(1970)81[3513:IOPTFT]2.0.CO;2 }}</ref> established the essential framework for the plate tectonics of western North America. In her work, she explains that approximately 40 million years ago, the [[Farallon Plate]] was subducting underneath the [[North American Plate]] and the [[Pacific Plate]]. The lower half of the Farallon plate was entirely subducted under Southern California and the upper half did not sink, which eventually became known as the [[Juan de Fuca Plate]].Since the southern section of Farallon completely disappeared, the boundary of southern California was now between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. The San Andreas Fault is unique because it acts as a major fault line as well as a border between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.<ref name="GeoScienceWorld"/> She updated this work in 1989.<ref>Atwater, T. M. 1989. “Plate tectonic history of the northeast Pacific and western North America”. In ''The geology of North America: The northeastern Pacific Ocean and Hawaii'', Edited by: Winterer, E. L., Hussong, D. M. and Decker, R. W. Vol. N, 21–72. Boulder, CO: Geol. Soc. Amer.</ref> |
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⚫ | Atwater's research paper, "Implications of Plate Tectonics for the Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Western North America",<ref name="GeoScienceWorld">{{cite journal|last1=Atwater |first1=Tanya | year=1970 |title=Implications of Plate Tectonics for the Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Western North America|journal=Geological Society of America Bulletin | volume=81 | issue=12 | pages=3513–3536|bibcode=1970GSAB...81.3513A |doi=10.1130/0016-7606(1970)81[3513:IOPTFT]2.0.CO;2 }}</ref> established the essential framework for the plate tectonics of western North America. In her work, she explains that approximately 40 million years ago, the [[Farallon Plate]] was subducting underneath the [[North American Plate]] and the [[Pacific Plate]]. The lower half of the Farallon plate was entirely subducted under Southern California and the upper half did not sink, which eventually became known as the [[Juan de Fuca Plate]]. Since the southern section of Farallon completely disappeared, the boundary of southern California was now between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. The San Andreas Fault is unique because it acts as a major fault line as well as a border between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.<ref name="GeoScienceWorld"/> She updated this work in 1989.<ref>Atwater, T. M. 1989. “Plate tectonic history of the northeast Pacific and western North America”. In ''The geology of North America: The northeastern Pacific Ocean and Hawaii'', Edited by: Winterer, E. L., Hussong, D. M. and Decker, R. W. Vol. N, 21–72. Boulder, CO: Geol. Soc. Amer.</ref> |
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[[File:Atwater and Luyendyk.png|thumb|Chief Scientist Tanya Atwater and [[Bruce P. Luyendyk]], ALVIN expedition to Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 1978]] |
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Atwater is interested in communication and education at all levels. She has developed electronic multi-media (Educational Multimedia Visualization Center at UCSB) to enhance geologic visualization and understanding, particularly related to the histories of tectonic plates.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://atwater.faculty.geol.ucsb.edu |website=Tanya Atwater Home Page |accessdate=13 August 2019|title=Tanya Atwater Homepage }}</ref> |
Atwater is interested in communication and education at all levels. She has developed electronic multi-media (Educational Multimedia Visualization Center at UCSB) to enhance geologic visualization and understanding, particularly related to the histories of tectonic plates.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://atwater.faculty.geol.ucsb.edu |website=Tanya Atwater Home Page |accessdate=13 August 2019|title=Tanya Atwater Homepage }}</ref> |
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== Awards and honors == |
== Awards and honors == |
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* 1975, Fellow, [[American Geophysical Union]]<ref>{{cite web|title=AGU Fellows|url=http://honors.agu.org/fellows/|accessdate=4 March 2014}}</ref> |
* 1975, Fellow, [[American Geophysical Union]]<ref>{{cite web|title=AGU Fellows|url=http://honors.agu.org/fellows/|accessdate=4 March 2014}}</ref> |
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* 1980, AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize for top research article in the journal [ |
* 1980, AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize for top research article in the journal [https://www.science.org/ ''Science'']<ref name="Atwater">{{cite web|last=Atwater|first=Tanya|title=Faculty Accolades Earth Sciences, UC Santa Barbara|url=http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/news/faculty|accessdate=4 March 2014}}</ref> |
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* 1997, elected to the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]]<ref>{{cite web|title=National Academy of Sciences, Member Directory|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory}}</ref> |
* 1997, elected to the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]]<ref>{{cite web|title=National Academy of Sciences, Member Directory|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory}}</ref> |
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* 2002, [[National Science Foundation]] Director's Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars. This award, of $300,000 over four years, is given to help and honor distinguished scientists who are working out ways to translate research into education. The money is meant to provide teaching scholars the opportunity to expand their work beyond their home institutions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Calling all geologists: Put your mental pictures here |url=http://www.geotimes.org/aug02/society.html |work=Geotimes |publisher=American Geological Institute |date=July 2002 |accessdate=12 December 2012}}</ref> |
* 2002, [[National Science Foundation]] Director's Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars. This award, of $300,000 over four years, is given to help and honor distinguished scientists who are working out ways to translate research into education. The money is meant to provide teaching scholars the opportunity to expand their work beyond their home institutions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Calling all geologists: Put your mental pictures here |url=http://www.geotimes.org/aug02/society.html |work=Geotimes |publisher=American Geological Institute |date=July 2002 |accessdate=12 December 2012}}</ref> |
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* Leopold von Buch Medal, German Geosciences Society<ref name="Atwater"/> |
* Leopold von Buch Medal, German Geosciences Society<ref name="Atwater"/> |
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*2005 Gold Medal, [[Society of Woman Geographers]]<ref name="Medal">{{cite web |title=SWG Gold Medalists |url=http://iswg.org/awards/past-gold-medal-recipients |website=Society of Woman Geographers |accessdate=3 February 2020}}</ref><ref name="Pike">{{cite news |last1=Pike |first1=Kaitlin |title=Field Lauds Atwater's Earth-Shaking Work |url=http://dailynexus.com/2005-02-15/field-lauds-atwaters-earth-shaking-work/ |accessdate=3 February 2020 |work=The Daily Nexus |publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara |date=February 15, 2005}}</ref> |
*2005 Gold Medal, [[Society of Woman Geographers]]<ref name="Medal">{{cite web |title=SWG Gold Medalists |url=http://iswg.org/awards/past-gold-medal-recipients |website=Society of Woman Geographers |accessdate=3 February 2020}}</ref><ref name="Pike">{{cite news |last1=Pike |first1=Kaitlin |title=Field Lauds Atwater's Earth-Shaking Work |url=http://dailynexus.com/2005-02-15/field-lauds-atwaters-earth-shaking-work/ |accessdate=3 February 2020 |work=The Daily Nexus |publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara |date=February 15, 2005}}</ref> |
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*2019 [[List of Penrose Medal winners|Penrose Medal]] of the Geological Society of America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/About/awards/GSA_Awards/GSA/Awards/GSA.aspx#penrose|title=Atwater receives Penrose|website |
*2019 [[List of Penrose Medal winners|Penrose Medal]] of the Geological Society of America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/About/awards/GSA_Awards/GSA/Awards/GSA.aspx#penrose|title=Atwater receives Penrose|website=|access-date=}}</ref> |
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*2022 [[Wollaston Medal]] of the [[Geological Society of London]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Atwater awarded Wollaston Medal |url=https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/About/awards-grants-and-bursaries/society-awards/2022-winners |access-date=March 9, 2022 |website=[[Geological Society of London]]}}</ref> |
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*2023 Elected to the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amacad.org/new-members-2023|title=New members|year=2023|publisher= American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=2023-04-21}}</ref> |
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== Selected works == |
== Selected works == |
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* {{cite journal | last1=MenardENARD | first1=H. W. | last2=Atwater | first2=Tanya | title=Changes in Direction of Sea Floor Spreading | journal=Nature | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=219 | issue=5153 | year=1968 | issn=0028-0836 | doi=10.1038/219463a0 | pages=463–467| bibcode=1968Natur.219..463M | s2cid=38388804 }} |
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* Menard, H. W., and Tanya Atwater, 1968, ''Changes in direction of sea floor spreading''. Nature, v. 219, p. 463-467. Reprinted in ''Plate Tectonics and Geomagnetic Reversals'', p. 412-419, W. H. Freeman Co. San Francisco, 1973. |
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* {{cite journal | last=Atwater | first=Tanya | title=Implications of Plate Tectonics for the Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Western North America | journal=Geological Society of America Bulletin | publisher=Geological Society of America | volume=81 | issue=12 | year=1970 | issn=0016-7606 | doi=10.1130/0016-7606(1970)81[3513:ioptft]2.0.co;2 | page=3513}} |
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* Atwater, Tanya, 1970, ''Implications of plate tectonics for the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of western North America''. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., v. 81, p. 3513-3536. Reprinted in ''Plate Tectonics and Geomagnetic Reversals'', p. 583-609, W. H. Freeman Co., San Francisco, 1973. Reprinted in U.C.S.D., Scripps Inst. Oceanography., Contributions, Vol. 40, Part 2, p. 1249–1271, 1970. |
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* Atwater, Tanya, and P. Molnar, 1973, ''Relative motion of the Pacific and North American plates deduced from seafloor spreading in the Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific Oceans''. R. L. Kovach and A. Nur, eds., Proc. of the Conf. on Tectonic Problems of the San Andreas Fault, Geological Sciences, v. XIII, Stanford Univ., p. 136-148. |
* Atwater, Tanya, and P. Molnar, 1973, ''Relative motion of the Pacific and North American plates deduced from seafloor spreading in the Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific Oceans''. R. L. Kovach and A. Nur, eds., Proc. of the Conf. on Tectonic Problems of the San Andreas Fault, Geological Sciences, v. XIII, Stanford Univ., p. 136-148. Reprinted in U.C.S.D., Scripps Inst. Oceanography., Contributions, Vol. 44, Part 2, p. 1362–1374, 1974. |
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* Atwater |
* {{cite journal | last=Atwater | first=Tanya | title=Propagating rifts in seafloor spreading patterns | journal=Nature | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=290 | issue=5803 | year=1981 | issn=0028-0836 | doi=10.1038/290185a0 | pages=185–186| bibcode=1981Natur.290..185A | s2cid=4366184 }} |
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*Severinghaus |
* {{cite book | last1=Severinghaus | first1=Jeff | last2=Atwater | first2=Tanya | title=Geological Society of America Memoirs | chapter=Chapter 1: Cenozoic geometry and thermal state of the subducting slabs beneath western North America | publisher=Geological Society of America | year=1990 | volume=176 | pages=1–22 | issn=0072-1069 | doi=10.1130/mem176-p1| isbn=0-8137-1176-2 }} |
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* Atwater, T., 1991, ''Tectonics of the Northeast Pacific'', Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, Series I, v. I, pp. 295–318. |
* Atwater, T., 1991, ''Tectonics of the Northeast Pacific'', Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, Series I, v. I, pp. 295–318. |
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* Atwater, T., 1998, ''Plate Tectonic History of Southern California with emphasis on the Western Transverse Ranges and Santa Rosa Island'', in Weigand, P. W., ed., Contributions to the geology of the Northern Channel Islands, Southern California: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Pacific Section, MP 45, p. 1-8. |
* Atwater, T., 1998, ''Plate Tectonic History of Southern California with emphasis on the Western Transverse Ranges and Santa Rosa Island'', in Weigand, P. W., ed., Contributions to the geology of the Northern Channel Islands, Southern California: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Pacific Section, MP 45, p. 1-8. |
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*{{cite news |first=Claudia |last=Dreyfus |title=A conversation with/Tanya Atwater; She put the San Andreas Fault in its place |date=12 October 1999 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/12/science/a-conversation-with-tanya-atwater-she-put-the-san-andreas-fault-in-its-place.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |accessdate=12 December 2012}} |
*{{cite news |first=Claudia |last=Dreyfus |title=A conversation with/Tanya Atwater; She put the San Andreas Fault in its place |date=12 October 1999 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/12/science/a-conversation-with-tanya-atwater-she-put-the-san-andreas-fault-in-its-place.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |accessdate=12 December 2012}} |
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*{{cite encyclopedia|last=Henderson|first=Andrea Kovacs|title=Atwater, Tanya Maria |encyclopedia=American men & women of science : a biographical directory of today's leaders in physical, biological, and related sciences|year=2009|volume=1 |page=261 |publisher=Gale|location=Detroit, Mich.|isbn=978-1414433004|edition=26th}} |
*{{cite encyclopedia|last=Henderson|first=Andrea Kovacs|title=Atwater, Tanya Maria |encyclopedia=American men & women of science : a biographical directory of today's leaders in physical, biological, and related sciences|year=2009|volume=1 |page=261 |publisher=Gale|location=Detroit, Mich.|isbn=978-1414433004|edition=26th}} |
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*{{citation |last=Atwater |first=Tanya |title=Tanya Atwater |publisher=John A. Dutton e-Education Institute |accessdate= December 2, 2017 |url=https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth520/book/export/html/1752}} |
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*{{cite web|title=AGU Fellows|url=http://honors.agu.org/fellows/|accessdate=2 December 2017}} |
*{{cite web|title=AGU Fellows|url=http://honors.agu.org/fellows/|accessdate=2 December 2017}} |
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*{{citation |last=Rossiter |first=Margaret W. |title=Women Scientists in America: Forging a New World Since 1972 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1421403632}} |
*{{citation |last=Rossiter |first=Margaret W. |title=Women Scientists in America: Forging a New World Since 1972 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1421403632}} |
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*{{cite web |last=Atwater |first=Tanya M. |title=Tanya M. Atwater Curriculum Vitae |publisher=John A. Dutton e-Education Institute |accessdate= December 2, 2017 |url=http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/atwater/Biography/CV.html}} |
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{{refend}} |
{{refend}} |
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[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty]] |
[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty]] |
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[[Category:Scripps Institution of Oceanography alumni]] |
[[Category:Scripps Institution of Oceanography alumni]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni]] |
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[[Category:University of California, San Diego alumni]] |
[[Category:University of California, San Diego alumni]] |
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[[Category:University of California, Santa Barbara faculty]] |
[[Category:University of California, Santa Barbara faculty]] |
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[[Category:20th-century geologists]] |
[[Category:20th-century American geologists]] |
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[[Category:21st-century American geologists]] |
[[Category:21st-century American geologists]] |
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[[Category:20th-century American scientists]] |
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[[Category:21st-century American scientists]] |
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[[Category:20th-century American women scientists]] |
[[Category:20th-century American women scientists]] |
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[[Category:21st-century American women scientists]] |
[[Category:21st-century American women scientists]] |
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[[Category:Women geophysicists]] |
[[Category:Women geophysicists]] |
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[[Category:Members of the Society of Woman Geographers]] |
[[Category:Members of the Society of Woman Geographers]] |
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[[Category:American women academics]] |
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[[Category:Marine geophysicists]] |
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[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] |
Latest revision as of 18:28, 23 June 2024
Tanya Marie Atwater | |
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Tanya Atwater on the Galapagos Propagating Rift expedition, 1982. | |
Born | 1942 Los Angeles, California |
Nationality | American |
Education | Scripps Institution of Oceanography |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Tectonics Marine geophysics |
Institutions | University of California, Santa Barbara |
Thesis | Implications of Plate Tectonics for the Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Western North America (1972) |
Tanya Atwater (born 1942) is an American geophysicist and marine geologist who specializes in plate tectonics. She is particularly renowned for her early research on the plate tectonic history of western North America.
Early life and education
[edit]Atwater was born in Los Angeles, California in 1942.[1] Her father was an engineer and her mother was a botanist. Atwater was one of the first women to research the ocean floor in terms of its geology.[citation needed]
Atwater began her education in 1960 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then received her B.A. in geophysics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1965.[2] She earned a Ph.D. (1972) in marine geophysics from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. She is director of the University of California, Santa Barbara Educational Multimedia Visualization Center where she is an emerita professor of geological sciences. She was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining the faculty at UCSB in 1980. Atwater retired from UCSB in 2007.[3]
Career
[edit]Atwater was a professor of tectonics, in the Department of Geological Sciences, now the Department of Earth science, at the University of California, Santa Barbara before retiring. She authored and co-authored 50 articles in international journals, professional volumes, and major reports. Seven of these papers were published in the journals Nature or Science. In 1975, she became a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union for her work in tectonophysics.[4] From 1975 to 1977, Atwater was a Sloan Postdoctoral Fellowship Recipient in Physics.[5] In 1984, she won the Encouragement Award from the Association for Women Geoscientists.[6] Atwater is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences[7] elected for her contributions to marine geophysics and tectonics. In 2019 she received the highest award of the Geological Society of America, the Penrose Medal.[8] In 2022 she received the Wollaston medal from the Geological Society of London, its highest award.[9]
Scientific discoveries
[edit]Atwater was involved in oceanographic expeditions using deep towed instruments to explore the ocean floor. To date, she has participated in 12 deep water dives in the deep-ocean submersible Alvin. She researched the volcano-tectonic processes responsible for creating new oceanic crust at seafloor spreading centers. In 1968, she co-authored a research paper featuring groundbreaking work into the faulted nature of spreading centers.[10] With Jack Corliss, Fred Spiess, and Kenneth Macdonald, she played key roles in expeditions that uncovered the distinct biology of ocean floor warm springs, which led to the discovery during the RISE project of the high temperature black smokers, undersea hydrothermal vents.
In Atwater's research on propagating rifts near the Galapagos Islands,[11] she discovered that propagating rifts were created when spreading centers along the seafloor were disturbed by tectonic movement or magma and therefore had to change direction to realign. This helped to explain the complex pattern of the seafloor.
Atwater is perhaps best known for her work on the plate tectonic history of western North America.[12] She wrote two major research papers outlining the history of plate tectonic evolution of North America and tectonic problems of the San Andreas Fault, which assisted in documenting the history of the San Andreas Fault.[13][14]
She also studied geometric evolution, integrating and comparing the global plate motion records with the regional continental geologic records. She found emerging relationships that revealed the origins of many large-scale geologic features (e.g. Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, Death Valley, Cascade volcanoes, California Coast Ranges).[7]
Atwater's research paper, "Implications of Plate Tectonics for the Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Western North America",[13] established the essential framework for the plate tectonics of western North America. In her work, she explains that approximately 40 million years ago, the Farallon Plate was subducting underneath the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate. The lower half of the Farallon plate was entirely subducted under Southern California and the upper half did not sink, which eventually became known as the Juan de Fuca Plate. Since the southern section of Farallon completely disappeared, the boundary of southern California was now between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. The San Andreas Fault is unique because it acts as a major fault line as well as a border between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.[13] She updated this work in 1989.[15]
Atwater is interested in communication and education at all levels. She has developed electronic multi-media (Educational Multimedia Visualization Center at UCSB) to enhance geologic visualization and understanding, particularly related to the histories of tectonic plates.[16]
Awards and honors
[edit]- 1975, Fellow, American Geophysical Union[17]
- 1980, AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize for top research article in the journal Science[18]
- 1997, elected to the National Academy of Sciences[19]
- 2002, National Science Foundation Director's Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars. This award, of $300,000 over four years, is given to help and honor distinguished scientists who are working out ways to translate research into education. The money is meant to provide teaching scholars the opportunity to expand their work beyond their home institutions.[20]
- Leopold von Buch Medal, German Geosciences Society[18]
- 2005 Gold Medal, Society of Woman Geographers[21][22]
- 2019 Penrose Medal of the Geological Society of America.[23]
- 2022 Wollaston Medal of the Geological Society of London.[9]
- 2023 Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[24]
Selected works
[edit]- MenardENARD, H. W.; Atwater, Tanya (1968). "Changes in Direction of Sea Floor Spreading". Nature. 219 (5153). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 463–467. Bibcode:1968Natur.219..463M. doi:10.1038/219463a0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 38388804.
- Atwater, Tanya (1970). "Implications of Plate Tectonics for the Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Western North America". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 81 (12). Geological Society of America: 3513. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1970)81[3513:ioptft]2.0.co;2. ISSN 0016-7606.
- Atwater, Tanya, and P. Molnar, 1973, Relative motion of the Pacific and North American plates deduced from seafloor spreading in the Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific Oceans. R. L. Kovach and A. Nur, eds., Proc. of the Conf. on Tectonic Problems of the San Andreas Fault, Geological Sciences, v. XIII, Stanford Univ., p. 136-148. Reprinted in U.C.S.D., Scripps Inst. Oceanography., Contributions, Vol. 44, Part 2, p. 1362–1374, 1974.
- Atwater, Tanya (1981). "Propagating rifts in seafloor spreading patterns". Nature. 290 (5803). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 185–186. Bibcode:1981Natur.290..185A. doi:10.1038/290185a0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 4366184.
- Severinghaus, Jeff; Atwater, Tanya (1990). "Chapter 1: Cenozoic geometry and thermal state of the subducting slabs beneath western North America". Geological Society of America Memoirs. Vol. 176. Geological Society of America. pp. 1–22. doi:10.1130/mem176-p1. ISBN 0-8137-1176-2. ISSN 0072-1069.
- Atwater, T., 1991, Tectonics of the Northeast Pacific, Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, Series I, v. I, pp. 295–318.
- Atwater, T., 1998, Plate Tectonic History of Southern California with emphasis on the Western Transverse Ranges and Santa Rosa Island, in Weigand, P. W., ed., Contributions to the geology of the Northern Channel Islands, Southern California: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Pacific Section, MP 45, p. 1-8.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Atwater, Tanya. "Tanya Atwater". John A. Dutton e-Education Institute. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
- ^ Gates, Alexander E. (2003), ""Atwater, Tanya"", A to Z of earth scientists, New York: Facts on File, pp. 10–12, ISBN 978-0816045808
- ^ "EMVC Web Page".
- ^ "Tanya M. Atwater". American Geophysical Union. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ ""Atwater, Tanya"". Postdoctoral Pathways: Preparation, Holding Pattern of Jumping off point?. Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. 2012. ISBN 978-1421403632.
- ^ Atwater, Tanya M. (n.d.). "Tanya M. Atwater Curriculum Vitae". John A. Dutton e-Education Institute. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
- ^ a b "Tanya Atwater". National Academies of Science. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
- ^ "The Penrose Medal".
- ^ a b "Atwater awarded Wollaston Medal". Geological Society of London. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- ^ Menard, H.W.; Atwater, T.M. (1968). "Changes in direction of sea floor spreading". Nature. 219 (5153): 463–467. Bibcode:1968Natur.219..463M. doi:10.1038/219463a0. S2CID 38388804.
- ^ Atwater, Tanya (1981). "Propagating rifts in seafloor spreading patterns". Nature. 290 (5803): 185–186. Bibcode:1981Natur.290..185A. doi:10.1038/290185a0. S2CID 4366184.
- ^ Stock, J. M. (2018). "Tanya Atwater: Using Plate Tectonics to Explain Geologic History of Western North America". AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. 2018: T24C–07. Bibcode:2018AGUFM.T24C..07S.
- ^ a b c Atwater, Tanya (1970). "Implications of Plate Tectonics for the Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Western North America". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 81 (12): 3513–3536. Bibcode:1970GSAB...81.3513A. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1970)81[3513:IOPTFT]2.0.CO;2.
- ^ Atwater, Tanya; Molnar, Peter (1973). Kovach, R. L.; Nur, A. (eds.). Relative motion of the Pacific and North American plates deduced from sea-floor spreading in the Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific Oceans. Conference on Tectonic Problems of the San Andreas Fault. Vol. 13. Stanford University. pp. 136–148.
- ^ Atwater, T. M. 1989. “Plate tectonic history of the northeast Pacific and western North America”. In The geology of North America: The northeastern Pacific Ocean and Hawaii, Edited by: Winterer, E. L., Hussong, D. M. and Decker, R. W. Vol. N, 21–72. Boulder, CO: Geol. Soc. Amer.
- ^ "Tanya Atwater Homepage". Tanya Atwater Home Page. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^ "AGU Fellows". Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ a b Atwater, Tanya. "Faculty Accolades Earth Sciences, UC Santa Barbara". Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ "National Academy of Sciences, Member Directory".
- ^ "Calling all geologists: Put your mental pictures here". Geotimes. American Geological Institute. July 2002. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ "SWG Gold Medalists". Society of Woman Geographers. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ Pike, Kaitlin (February 15, 2005). "Field Lauds Atwater's Earth-Shaking Work". The Daily Nexus. University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ "Atwater receives Penrose".
- ^ "New members". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
Further reading
[edit]- Dreyfus, Claudia (12 October 1999). "A conversation with/Tanya Atwater; She put the San Andreas Fault in its place". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- Henderson, Andrea Kovacs (2009). "Atwater, Tanya Maria". American men & women of science : a biographical directory of today's leaders in physical, biological, and related sciences. Vol. 1 (26th ed.). Detroit, Mich.: Gale. p. 261. ISBN 978-1414433004.
- "AGU Fellows". Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- Rossiter, Margaret W. (2012), Women Scientists in America: Forging a New World Since 1972, Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 978-1421403632
External links
[edit]- 1942 births
- Living people
- American geophysicists
- Marine geologists
- American women geologists
- Scientists from California
- Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography alumni
- UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni
- University of California, San Diego alumni
- University of California, Santa Barbara faculty
- 20th-century American geologists
- 21st-century American geologists
- 20th-century American women scientists
- 21st-century American women scientists
- Women geophysicists
- Members of the Society of Woman Geographers
- American women academics
- Marine geophysicists
- Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences